England pacer Mark Wood is confident that the side can come out on top in the upcoming five-match Test series against Australia that is set to commence from November 21. Though the Three Lions haven't recorded a single Test victory in Australia since 2011, the 35-year-old stated that there is a great feeling in the camp as of current and there is also a belief among them of performing well Down Under.
"There's a quiet confidence within the group that we could go and do something special. There's a much better feeling around the group that we're well prepared in the way we want to play. There's a clear gameplan from the coaching staff and the captain. Australia are very hard to beat in their own conditions. They're a good team and we've obviously seen that up close from the last tour, but it feels a little bit more like fighting fire with fire this time," Wood told Sky Sports.
"We know how they play so we're sort of taking a leaf out of their book really saying, 'look, this has what's been successful for them, we're going to attack in the same way'. It should be a back and forth series but one I believe we can come out on top in," he added.
Wood also highlighted how important the bowling attack will be for both teams in the upcoming series as the Australian pitches are known to generate more bounce. He also expressed co nfidence in England bowlers and remarked that they have the quality to pick up all 20 wickets in the match.
"The bowling attack is vitally important if you look at the pitches in Australia. They're hard and fast bouncy wickets so having those fast bowlers, and depth of bowling, is going to be important,' Wood stated.
"If one of the lads were to be rested, you're confident the next lad can come in and do the job. There's a good core group who you think can get 20 wickets. You look at that bowling attack and feel confident we can get 20 wickets,' he further added.
England's bowling attack for The Ashes
England have opted to go for a bowling attack dominated by pace and have selected a total of seven seamers in their squad. Additionally, they have also named two spin options for the squad in Shoaib Bashir and Jacob Bethell.
England's squad for The Ashes: Ben Stokes (captain), Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.